antiquated legislation, e.g., the Taunton River fishery, which is 

 operating under a law passed in 1855. The non-enforcement 

 or subsequent modification of these laws in the interests of 

 private individuals brought about the decline of the alewife 

 fishery. Sufficiently good legislation was enacted for nearly 

 every alewife stream, which, if properly enforced, would have 

 preserved the fishery. 



Since the provisions of the numerous laws enacted for the 

 individual fisheries have many points in common, a summary 

 of a few of the more important will suffice. 



Establishment. The first legislative act established or cre- 

 ated a particular fishery by law, and placed the necessary re- 

 sponsibility upon the town, individual or corporation control- 

 ling the same. 



Obstructions. The general principle that alewives should 

 have free passage up to the spawning grounds has been the 

 keystone of all legislation. Various efforts have been made to 

 provide all dams with suitable passageways for the fish. 



(1) During a period of sixty days, usually between definite 

 dates, which varied as to the locality, stream and time of run, 

 an open passageway was required. 



(2) Ordinarily any passageway sufficient for the fish was 

 deemed satisfactory, and the owner could either bring the 

 stream down to its natural level by removing the flashboards, 

 or construct a fishway of sufficient size to permit the passage of 

 the fish. In a few cases a passageway of definite size and flow 

 of water was required, e.g., Beaver Brook, a tributary of the 

 Merrimack, where a fishway not less than 6 feet wide, in which 

 the water should not be less than 6 inches deep, was ordered. 



(3) The cost of installment and maintenance was borne gen- 

 erally by the dam owner, although sometimes by the town. 



(4) In some cases provision was made for a passageway for 

 the young alewives returning to salt water in the fall. 



(5) Penalties of varying severity for obstructing the passage 

 of fish were enacted. 



(6) Power was given to the selectmen or herring committee 

 to remove all obstructions of any nature at the expense either 

 of the owner or of the town. 



Herring Committee. The early laws provided for the ap- 



